In computer graphics, compositing comprises combining visual effects from separate sources into a single images to create the illusion that all of those elements are part of the same virtual scene. Generally, elements of a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual scene are processed by a renderer to produce a two-dimensional (2-D) representation of the scene. The renderer can produce a deep image that includes multiple samples per pixel. Advanced techniques can often be used for high-fidelity image compositing that utilize this deep image. Termed “deep compositing,” the compositing operation can accept deep image formats (such as deep OpenEXR 2.0 images) in order to enable advanced operations, such as color correction and volumetric compositing without holdouts. These deep images can often take up large amounts of storage space, which can in turn make the deep images impractical to work with despite their advantages.